A serial burglar has been convicted of the murder of a former Plymouth Royal Navy officer who he ran over after a botched house burglary.

The jury at Manchester Crown Court took three and half hours to convict Ryan Gibbons, 29, who killed Mike Samwell as his wife Jessica watched in horror.

Gibbons puffed out his cheeks and glanced towards his family as the verdict was delivered, while Mrs Samwell, supported by her husband’s family, quietly wept.

She held her husband’s hand, telling him she loved him as he lay dying from catastrophic crush injuries to his chest and heart after the burglary in April.

Mike Samwell

The couple were woken in the dead of night as Gibbons broke into their £450,000 house in Cranbourne Road, Chorlton, south Manchester, snatching the keys to Mr Samwell’s Audi S3 sports car from the kitchen table.

It is believed Mr Samwell, who had served on Devonport-based HMS Tireless, was run over after he tried to stop Gibbons from the botched burglary.

Mr Samwell, who served 12 years in the navy, died in hospital from his injuries.

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Mr Samwell was serving on HMS Tireless when two crew members died in an explosion on board in March 2007.

On his LinkedIn profile, he wrote that one of his achievements during his Royal Navy career was rebuilding the weapon handling team and helping the crew achieve a 'good' assessment in training, following "the loss of two members of my team".

Mike Samwell on his wedding day

His crewmate, who goes only by his first name - Dom - on the social media site, praised his former colleague for his work ethic and values.

He added: "Submariners court a different danger to the other branches of armed forces. The danger is ambient and constant, even in peacetime.